Page 219 of Broken
“Right around the corner,” she replied. “I’m sure of it.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later, Thanksgiving Day
Jacqueline
Prescott and Jacqueline’s families were camped out in their family room, everyone too full to move.
Rebel, sitting on the floor with Loki, patted his stomach. “I ate enough for three people. Dinner wasthatgood.”
“I agree,” Jacqueline’s sister-in-law, Naomi, said. “Jacqueline, that was the best stuffing I have ever had.”
“It was,” Prescott’s mom added.
“Thank you,” Jacqueline replied. “Is it too soon for dessert?”
Moans filled the room, and she laughed.
“Babe, I can’t eat another bite,” Prescott replied.
She smiled. “We’ve got plenty of time for dessert and coffee. You’ll make room for Naomi’s homemade blueberry pie. I’ve been looking forward to that all day.”
“Same,” her brother, Keith, added.
“I’m ready to head to the basement for some putting,” Jacqueline’s mom said. “Ethan, are you with me?”
Ethan had been playing a card game at the kitchen table with his Papa and Jacqueline’s dad, who he called Gramps.
“Okay,” Ethan replied as he climbed out of the booster seat. “Everybody should come downstairs!”
With Loki bounding down the stairs first, the family made their way into the basement. When Jacqueline’s mom and dad had bought Ethan a starter golf club set, he’d taken to the sport so much so that Prescott converted the spacious game room into a putting green.
With clubs in hand, they watched as Ethan set up his shot. As the putting got underway, Jacqueline’s mom pulled her aside.
“We visited Leslie this week,” her mom murmured.
Leslie was in jail, awaiting her trial date.
Jacqueline hadnotvisited her, and had no intention of doing so. Instead, she’d spent the last six months working through the wreckage Leslie had left because of the horrible choices she had made.
“How’d that go?” Jaqueline asked.
“Well, she actually saw us, this time, but she was pretty angry.”
“At herself?” Jacqueline asked.
“No. She’s angry atyoufor arresting her. She blames us for not helping her out more financially. We gave her twenty thousand, but even that—which we considered a lot—wasn’t enough. She’s angry with her husband for lying to her about, pretty much, everything. She felt used by him. It’s sad, really.”
Jacqueline put her arm around her mom. “I’m sorry. If she hadn’t helped her monster husband, things would be different.”
Her mom squared her shoulders. “Very.”
“Yay!” Ethan ran around giving everyone high-fives.
“He sunk one from fifteen feet,” Prescott said.
“Nice, Ethan!” Jacqueline called out to him.
